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Dalglish puts boot in over sale of public playing fields

KENNY DALGLISH, the former Scotland footballer, has accused local authorities of undermining Scottish football by selling off public playing fields. Having honed his skills on council-owned pitches in Glasgow, he said local politicians must show young people “more respect” by providing sufficient facilities to let them play.

The former Celtic and Liverpool player said this would ensure that more young people take healthy exercise in a country with some of the fattest children in the world.

Since Labour came to power in 1997 more than 100 publicly owned playing fields have been sold off to make way for property and retail developments. Despite a crusade by Jack McConnell, the first minister, against childhood obesity, one in five 12-year-olds are classed as clinically obese In a new book by Kevin Gallacher — Tartan Turmoil: Fall and Rise of Scottish Football — Dalglish says the reduction in facilities has led to a dwindling number